Improvement in car-brakes



UNITED STATES- `PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL MADDEN, OF HARItISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF HISRIGHT TO WILLIAM O. MCFADDEN, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT I-N CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent. No. 158,426, dated January5, 1875; application filed October 1, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL MADDEN, of the city of Harrisburg, county ofDauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Car- Brakes, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this speeication, in which- Figure 1 is a perspectiverepresentation of my car-brake mechanism, showing the position of thebrake-levers thereon and other attachments. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation ofa cartruck having my car-brake mounted thereon.

The nature and object of.' my invention consist, irst, in dispensingwith the common brake-bar on which the shoe-holders are usuall ymounted, and which are located objectionably low,and,instead thereof, Iemploy shoe-holders, arranged plunger-form between the springplank andbolster, and connect them by transvers stays above the lower side of thetrucktimbers. Second, a peculiar retractin g-sprin g connection, bywhich the shoe-holding plungers are withdrawn when traction is oft' thebrake-chain. Third, a peculiar form of plunger-iront, adapted for theapplication of the brake-shoes.

In the following description, similar letters refer to similar parts inboth figures of the drawing.

A represents the shoe-supportin g plungers, which are connected in pairsby coiled springs B, swivel style, being twined tightly, at theirdiminished ends C, around necks formed on the ends D of said plungers.rllhe middleparts of the springs B are made, by enlarged coils of thewire, to admit the heads on the inner ends of the plungers, indicated atR, which are retainers for the connecting-spring. The plungers A aretransversely connected by the parallel bars G, which are provided attheir ends with the tenons H, to pass through the plunger-bodies D, andwhich are retained therein by the keys or skeins d. Connected with thetransverse bars G are the draft-bars F, cleft at their outer ends toadmit the brakelevers K, which are inserted in them in the usual manner,and their lower ends are also hitched togetherby the connecting-rod L,in the usual way. The chains N, levers K, draft-bars F, andconnecting-rod L are old devices. The remaining parts in Fig. l I regardas new, and as my invention.

By my construction and arrangementIdispense with the old-fashionedclevis and straphangers, as well as the brake-bar. Instead of the latterI employ the transverse yokes or bars Gr. The old-style brake-bar isusually hung to swing beneathv the truck-timbers W V, where it is liableto be torn from its snpports, if by inadvertence or malice anyobstruction is placed on the track, and where it is also a menace tolife, if, by mishap, a person is prostrated between the tracks, it beingthe lowest part of truck apparatus.

' I therefore locate my improved shoe-supporting plunger, as shown inFig. 2, between the bolster W and spring-plank V, in such a manner thatit may ride horizontally on chairs S, on said plank V. I thus presentthe plungers in a line a little below the centers of the wheels, and theshoes and liners m n, now in common use, are attached by bolts to thefront ends of the plungcrs, in position as shown. It is designed to useany ofthe shoes and liners now in use, but it is evident the front endsof the plungers a b may be so modified as to dispense with theliner-holder, asaliner may be directly attached to my plunger by theusual bolt. The ofce of the springs B is to connect the plungers A insuch a manner that the liners may bepositively retracted from contactwith the wheels P, when tension of the brake is released, to avoiddesultory friction, as is now the case with the swinging brakes.

The plunger-fronts are made box-form, to correctly seat the holdersnowin use, as shown in Fig. 2, a being side flanges thereon, to resisttorsional or lateral strain on the holders. The transverse bars G arelocated to retreat wholly between the bolster W and the plank V, and theplungers A are located between the truck-sprin gs Z 5 and the lever Kmay be so applied as to operate the connecting-bar L, when it isinserted between the timbers W and V.

Harlin g thus fully and clearly specified the construction and nature ofmy invention, I

hereunto .append what I regard as new and useful, and what I desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, in the followingv claims:

1. 'lhe plungers A, in combination with the springs I3, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

2. The plungers A, in combination with the transverse bars G, saidplungers being connected in pairs by the springs B, for operationsubstantially as shown and described.

3. The brake-rigging frame A B G, in combination with the lever K,draft-jaw bar F, and connecting-rod L, all for operation substantiallyas set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have hereuntoset my hand and seal this 30th day of September, 187 4.

MICHAEL MADDEN. [L. s]

Witnesses:

THEOPHILUS WEAVER, PETER STUGKER.

